CLOSE TO ME

When the night falls all around us,
And we can no longer see,
No matter what they try to call us,
I'll still hold you close to me

And when they lie to the masses,
And present themselves as idolatry,
We'll hide and take our chances,
And I'll hold you close to me

And the truth it may be fleeting,
They control what we hear and see,
We'll survive, though bleeding,
And I'll hold you close to me

One day the skies will brighten,
We'll drive them all into the sea,
We'll watch them float on the horizon,
And I'll hold you close to me

Copyright, EGHarne

STACEY ON THE BUS

I dread the days that I have to work,
Riding the Metro with a dumbass jerk,
She won't shut up!
She drives me freakin' crazy!
She won't shut up!
Her name is Stacey...
She thinks she's cute,
But she makes me puke,
She's worse than herpes or a bag of pus,
She'll make you cuss,
She's Stacey on the bus!

I'd like to put one right between her eyes,
Yes, she's that bad and we all despise,
Her flapping gums,
She drives us freakin' crazy!
She won't shut up!
That damn Stacey!
She's got a pierced tongue,
She'd make Carl Jung,
Worship Sigmund Freud and accept mother lust,
She's got you sussed,
She's Stacey on the bus!

I hope one day the world explodes,
Sacrifice myself to get this ho',
To please shut up,
She'd drive the good Lord crazy!
She won't shut up,
I pray for death to Stacey!
She's a maniac!
She'd make Satan yak!
I'd commit seppuku with a single thrust,
I'd turn to dust,
To get Stacey off the bus!

CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?

When I was young, I came to this place,
With a few good friends and a smile on my face,
We’d talk all night and then leave at dawn,
Just havin’ fun, never did nuthin’ wrong

But the years blazed on, at the speed of light,
One day you wake up, and youth’s outta sight,
The friends you held dear, have all disappeared,
And condolences offered, can’t stop the tears

Can anybody hear me?
Or do you just fear me?
I know I’ve gotten old,
Do you have to be so cold?
Can anybody hear me?

I walk in this place, with a cane in my hand,
I’m the last of my friends, I know they’d understand,
I just wanna be close, to the laughs and the boasts,
To those I once loved, even though they’re all ghosts

And I listen to music, that seems out of place,
But I endure it all with a smile on my face,
Talk to myself and sleep until dawn,
Don’t know who I am, but I know something’s wrong

Can anybody hear me?
Or do you just fear me?
I know I’ve gotten old,
Do you have to be so cold?
Can anybody hear me?

THREE FORKS

We were all together,
For a very long, long time,
Then one day it all changes,
For no reason nor no rhyme

But the future beckons to us,
And the ones we held so dear,
Fade away like windswept clouds,
As do our fallen tears

Then suddenly as they left us,
Memories come flooding back,
And the trigger something small,
And the dam begins to crack

And it happened just today,
Doing something so mundane,
That I had to catch my breath,
Because I could not dull the pain

For as I set the table,
It shook me to my core,
I sobbed a silent prayer,
Three forks instead of four

Copyright; EGHarne

MUSINGS AT THE MALL

Been walking this mall for 25 years,
Watched the people come and go,
Store fronts closed, businesses dark,
And the roof is starting to bow

I follow the faded, broken signs,
That mark the miles in tenths,
Can’t even attract porn shops here,
With drastically lowered rents

But I get my daily exercise,
While avoiding warps in the floors,
With menacing gangs around me,
Pimping the local crack whores

I used to feel so safe here,
When families were standard fare,
But now it’s one big shit hole,
And pot smoke fills the air

And I get so tired of the comments,
Perpetrators of deicide,
From all the hip-hop wannabes,
Flashing finger signs

I just wanted a peaceful existence,
To enjoy my twilight years,
But it’s all fallen down around me,
And now I live in fear

But I won’t go down silently,
They won’t take my mall away,
To simply walk in solitude,
And no longer feel afraid

Screw all you sonsabitches,
You won’t make me run,
‘Cause underneath my jacket,
I silently caress my gun

FIX

I’ve tried so hard, as hard as I can,
To make what was wrong right,
But we’ve fallen between the crevices,
Of the very dark side of life

And I begged for you to follow me,
And walk hand in hand to the light,
But you balked as happiness beckoned,
And remained in the shadows of life

I can’t repair these broken souls,
Even with mortar and brick,
We’ve failed to even help ourselves,
And that’s something God won’t fix

You’ve said we don’t hold all the cards,
And the dealer uses a slight,
But we’ve gambled on empty promises,
And the dead man’s hand is our life

Our mutual disgust is appalling,
Screaming mightily day and night,
For something we’ve lost within ourselves,
Conveniently blaming this life

We take no responsibility for anything,
Though we hide the needle pricks,
I pray we learn to pray again,
But that’s something God can’t fix


Copyright; EGHarne

U2

They're another mindless rock band,
So socially aware,
No thoughts of their own,
And no one really cares

Rich beyond belief,
They're gods to their fans,
They excoriate America,
While hawking their brand

They hate the U.S.A.,
We're stupid, shallow, crass,
But these comic, Celtic zeros
Willingly take our cash

So take your fake refinement,
And all your self-righteous glee,
And we'll burn them in a heap,
Next to your joshua tree


Copyright; EGHARNE

AMY

If there was a way that I could find you,
After, oh, these many years,
The things that I would tell you,
Would bring us both to tears

If I could hold your hands in mine,
And express what's in my heart,
You'd be amazed by what's been hidden,
Illuminating what's been dark

These emotions still surprise me,
About a woman I briefly knew,
But those few hours we had together,
Made me confront the truth

That love's not measured in minutes,
Nor does it fade like burning coals,
It simply overtakes us,
And forever alters our souls


Copyright; EGHarne

JURISPRUDENCE

If I get caught stealing candy from a baby,
If I get caught beating an old man with his cane,
If I get caught stealing flowers from a graveyard,
I hope I get tried in the good ol' U.S.A.

And if all the evidence is stacked against me,
And if they can match my worthless DNA,
And if eyewitnesses say they saw me,
I hope I get tried in the good ol' U.S.A.

'Cause in the U.S.A., hey, facts they don't matter,
Lawyers will give any lie a whirl,
I don't have to worry about no conviction,
'Cause the U.S.A. has the dumbest juries in the world



Copyright; EGHarne

WISDOM

I thirsted for knowledge,
I longed to understand,
About the world around me,
Not leaving anything to chance

I packed all my belongings,
And headed for the hills,
To find the Monk of Knowledge,
And screw these self-help shills

I traveled days and nights,
Through rain and sleet and snow,
To the highest mountain,
As far as I could go

I reached the cavern entrance,
Then spied the prophet's lair,
He sat upon a toilet seat,
Stroking greasy, crusty hair

I knelt so low before him,
Exhausted from the trip,
I then worked up the courage,
And these words passed my lips:

"Oh great Font of Foresight,
I left my children and my wife,
So I could finally meet you,
And discover the meaning of my life!"

He looked at me so kindly,
And I'll not soon forget,
The wisdom he imparted,
On his garlic laded breath:

"Oswald shot the President,
Jimmy Hoffa's in concrete,
We didn't land on the moon,
And porn stars have dirty feet."


COPYRIGHT; EGHarne

PETE'S CONVERSATION W/HIS BEST FRIEND'S WIFE

You don't know how you make me feel,
Oh, how my senses reel,
And if we ever have the chance,
To embolden this romance,
That's the art of the deal

We'll keep this secret sealed...

MEMENTO MORI (Memo to Sinead O'Connor)

The magazines they savaged you,
They said you'd gotten old,
That somehow youth's eternal,
And none of this was foretold

No matter how hard we fight it,
And swim against the tide,
Nature's wishes drown us,
In the sands of time

So hold your head up proudly,
Fear not those facial lines,
The softening of the middle,
And a tush that's not so fine

They can hate us for these changes,
That are tantamount to crimes,
Vernal assholes miss the point:
They ain't far behind

MISSING

Walking slowly on these streets,
The moonlight casts a glow,
So many years have come and gone,
But I don't really want to know

And I wonder if these spirits,
That step silently with me,
Remember all those happy days,
When we were so carefree

The weight from these memories,
Puts me to the test,
The sadness overcoming me,
Won't leave my soul at rest

I want to keep on moving,
And find answers that are clear,
Of what happened to the love I lost,
And why she disappeared

To the cops she's just a cold file,
A picture frozen deep in time,
Maybe someday I will find her,
And solve the mystery of this crime

THE PROMISE

Here you are so sick again,
You don't look so well,
The skin sags around your skull,
And your bed sores really smell

I could try to help you,
Do as I've always done,
Tell you everything's o.k.,
And then dial 9-1-1

But somehow this time's different,
There's nothing in your eyes,
Except the pain of living,
That accompanies your cries

You whisper something in my ear,
And I hold your hand in mine,
I make a solemn promise,
No ambulance this time

Copyright; EGHarne

BONNIE BEDELIA

Bonnie Bedelia,
Heart like a wheel,
Can I ever tell ya,
How I really feel?

I'll never let you go...
Never let you go...

UNREQUITED

When you love someone,
But she don't feel the same,
You can't catch your breath,
You can't dull the pain

And when you see her smile,
But at someone else,
It turns you inside out,
You can't feel yourself,

And when she walks away,
Moving hand in hand,
Leaving your love behind,
For another man

And as you stand alone,
Nothing's bittersweet,
No one sees you there,
Drowning in your grief

Copyright; EGHarne

BARRY'S THOUGHTS AT THE GRAVESIDE OF HIS RECENTLY DECEASED WIFE

I'm glad it's you and not me darlin'!
I can't stop myself from sreamin' and hollerin'!
Pretty soon you'll be nuthin' but a box full o' bones,
And me, I'll be tap dancin' on all these headstones!

Copyright; EGHarne

FEVER DREAM

It took me awhile to realize,
Where I was going to and where I had been,
I can't say that it was a noble quest,
Because I left you behind,
When the friendship wore thin

Somewhere out on that highway's an end,
Of a journey that's lasted far too long,
The winners ain't braver,
The women ain't beauties,
And the race don't always go the strong

Beg, borrow and steal a lifetime,
Of broken promises and poison darts,
I can lie to the people,
I can lie to you baby,
I can lie here all night and wait for the sparks

But you know and I know flames don't rekindle,
When wooden hearts darken with falling tears,
'Cause I ain't a beggar,
And I ain't a pleader,
Still I wish these nurses would acknowledge my fears

Copyright; EGHarne

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

I've done a lot of bad things,
And I've hurt so many people,
In my neverending quest for number one,
But of all the mistakes I've made,
You're not one, my son,
Of all the mistakes I've made, you're not one


Copyright; EGHarne

HER PLAINTIVE PLEA TO A JACKASS

Lie to me,
I don't want to hear those words again,
Don't want to see,
And though I understand your feelings well,
Please don't leave,
Don't go,
'cause you know I love you so


Copyright; EGHarne